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Temperance in Evanston has released an NA beer.
Temperance Beer Co.

Chicago Restaurants and Bars With Excellent Booze-Free Beverages

Don’t drink booze if you don’t want to, just please never use the phrase “sober curious” again

by Ashok Selvam Updated
View as Map
Temperance in Evanston has released an NA beer.
| Temperance Beer Co.
by Ashok Selvam Updated

In January, when many have resolved to reduce consumption, non-alcoholic drinks are popular ways to keep bars busy in a month where the hospitality business is down in general due to cold weather and a holiday hangover.

Bigger players are poised to enter the market. Breweries with the means have no worries about selling a consumer a product that may eat away at the profits from other products. Remember the apprehension with hard seltzers? That was a fun time.

But there’s still room for creativity as these bigger companies prepare to offer whatever product is loaded with artificial flavoring. Chicago’s bartenders have been doing this for years, and though the city has earned a reputation for drinkers who savor their alcohol, this city also knows when to take a break and isn’t adverse to trying something new. So check out these restaurants, bars, and a brewery that have delightful booze-free options.

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Temperance Beer Co.

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In January, Temperance unveiled a new beer, Near Tears, without booze. It’s a double-dry hopped near beer that’s dry, tangy, and bright. Hopefully, it will also brighten up the brewery’s sales, which are usually down in January.

2000 Dempster St, Evanston, IL 60202
(847) 864-1000
(847) 864-1000

Eli Tea Bar

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This Michigan import arrived in Andersonville to bring both a sober bar and in creating a welcoming space for the LGBTQ community and its allies. Eli Tea mixed up unique tea drink no other tea room or coffee shop in Chicago offers. 

5507 N Clark St, Chicago, IL 60640
(773) 961-7111
(773) 961-7111
A person pours bright red tea out of a white pot into four glass mugs.
Andersonville is home to Eli Tea Bar’s second location.
Kim Kovacik/Eater Chicago

Also featured in:

Nobody's Darling

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The bartenders at this LGBTQ-friendly bar owned by a pair of Black women are always mixing something up lively. The menu features two drinks, but that’s just a sample of the bar’s library. Try the Desire (Lyre’s Italian Orange, passion fruit, lime, agave, habanero bitters).

1744 W Balmoral Ave, Chicago, IL 60640
A bartender holds a metal cocktail shaker inside a black-and-red bar space
This bar’s booze-free drinks showcase summer flavors all year long.
Garrett Sweet/Eater Chicago

Also featured in:

Bokeh

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Bokeh represents an evolution of booze-free drinks as it’s a newish bar that featured an NA section on its opening menu. Some bartenders and older bars may show some disdain in mixing up an NA drink, but that’s not the case at Bokeh. The Bosphorus Strait (Turkish coffee, “tagine” syrup, condensed milk) redefines the genre, proving that NA drinks are more than glorified juice bar selections.

4716 N Kedzie Ave, Chicago, IL 60625
(773) 754-0129
(773) 754-0129

Chiya Chai Café

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Chiya Chai imports its teas from Nepal and uses leaves creatively in both traditional and new ways in Logan Square. This is where to go when you grow up and realize that the words “chai” and “tea” are redundant when used consecutively and want to graduate from Starbucks’ pre-packaged concoctions, or whatever premixed garbage those neighborhood baristas are selling. Mocktails with ginger and chai are among the rotating specials.

2770 N Milwaukee Ave, Chicago, IL 60647
(773) 360-7541
(773) 360-7541

Billy Sunday

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Billy Sunday is a figure central to the temperance movement. Sunday was a former White Sox player who used his platform as a pulpit. There’s great fun in naming a cocktail bar after him. A few of their selections are powered with their own rabarbaro, a type of amaro. Sunday’s NA version is used in a daiquiri and the Teacher’s Pet with spiced sour cherry and Verjus rouge.

3143 W Logan Blvd, Chicago, IL 60647
(773) 661-2485
(773) 661-2485

Also featured in:

Galit

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An Israeli specialty is gazoz, a seasonal soda with fresh herbs. It’s no surprise that the staff at Galit in Lincoln Park have leaned into the drink for its NA offering. There are two varieties. A pomegranate with cardamom rose, and hibiscus; and apricot with shrub, urfa (dried pepper), and anise.

2429 N Lincoln Ave, Chicago, IL 60614
(773) 360-8755
(773) 360-8755

Also featured in:

Bendición Dry Bar & Non-Alcoholic Bottle Shop

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In 2022, a bottle shop selling NA spirits like Bare and Everleaf debuted in Humboldt Park as a pop-up inside a plant shop called Succulent City. Bendición Dry Bar’s mission was to unite marginalized community members who were interested in reducing their booze consumption. They’ve hosted events, from queer tarot card reading to drawing classes. The hope is to build a bar inside the space for regular service. 

2540 W Division St, Chicago, IL 60622

LIVA at Chicago Winery

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In River North, the restaurant inside Chicago Winery, a new venue with locations in New York and D.C., is slinging three NA drinks. Liva is calling these drinks Flightless Birds. There’s a negroni, a drink called Tik-Taka (South African rooibos, black pepper, cranberry tonic), and Hotel Evangeline (Seedlip Spice 94, pineapple, apricot, lime, cinnamon).

739 N Clark St, Chicago, IL 60654
(312) 763-3674
(312) 763-3674
A dining room with a curtain-like hanging light fixture.
Chicagoans can even find alcohol-free options in a winery.
Barry Brecheisen/Eater Chicago

Also featured in:

Arbella

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Arbella, the sibling to Peruvian icon Tanta, is a sleek bar with great drinking food that can make for an impromptu meal. The lounge’s bold NA drink lineup includes Smoking Kills (lemon-ginger kombucha, lime, ginger beer, infused smoke) and Secret Window (London Dry spirit-free, hibiscus, Peachtree sipping vinegar, fruit).

112 W Grand Ave, Chicago, IL 60654
(312) 846-6654
(312) 846-6654

Also featured in:

The Omakase Room at Sushi-San

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Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises has created a restaurant inside a restaurant with the Omakase Room at Sushi-san, capitalizing on Chicago’s increased appetite for premium fish. Diners can pick from a few NA drinks including the Broken Promise (gingerbread Roobios, sesame, five spice, almond orgeat) and  Banana Brain (Genmaicha green tea, banana, sesame).

63 W Grand Ave, Chicago, IL 60654
(312) 766-7899
(312) 766-7899
A row of cocktails of various shapes, sizes, and colors are lined up on a table.
The Omakase Room has recently introduced non-alcoholic beverage options.
Lindsay Eberly/Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises

Bar Goa

Copy Link

As regional Indian food finds popularity in Chicago, Bar Goa takes inspiration from Goa, the state off India’s southwestern coast that’s known for its beaches. At Bar Goa in River North, they’re mixing up the Ginger Flower using hibiscus, ginger, orange, and lime.

116 W Hubbard St Suite 1, Chicago, IL 60654
(312) 900-0197
(312) 900-0197
A low-lit bar decorated with leafy plants.
Bar Goa doesn’t neglect patrons who don’t drink alcohol.
Barry Brecheisen/Eater Chicago

Rose Mary

Copy Link

Rose Mary leans into a mix of Italian and Croatian flavors, with chef Joe Flamm and company coining the term “Adriatic drinking food,” for its menu. There’s a a full menu of NA drinks including the Fake It Til You Make It (Lyre’s Agave Blanco, Cinnamon Orgeat, orange, Q Ginger Beer).

932 W Fulton St, Chicago, IL 60607
(872) 260-3921
(872) 260-3921

Also featured in:

LÝRA

Copy Link

The owners of Bandit and Bar Siena have opened a Greek restaurant in Fulton Market and offer a full line of NA drinks. A popular choice is the Halara (Amass Zero Proof, pomegranate, lemon, mint, tonic).

905 W Fulton Market, Chicago, IL 60607
(312) 660-7722
(312) 660-7722
DinaAmic Hospitality Group

Kumiko

Copy Link

Over at lauded Japanese-inspired cocktail lair Kumiko in the West Loop, Julia Momose is mixing and muddling a number of spirit-free drinks. The Pepperberry Tonic has become somewhat of a signature, but there are deeper cuts. The Umeboshi Swizzle (shiso-pickled ume, brown-rice vinegar, lemon, Japanese seven spice) is poured over crushed ice.

630 W Lake St, Chicago, IL 60661
(312) 285-2912
(312) 285-2912

Also featured in:

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Bambola

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One of the most polarizing restaurants in Chicago is in West Loop were the owners of Michelin-starred Porto opened Bambola. The menu is marketed as a trip through Silk Road, but it can also be viewed as of what Asian food could taste like while living in Spain. Rose & Shiso Soda (rose water, red shiso, lime leaf) is a fizzy way to enjoy a drink.

1402 W Randolph St, Chicago, IL 60607
(312) 526-3983
(312) 526-3983

Also featured in:

Elske

Copy Link

Danish-inspired Elske in the West Loop offers seasonal booze-free drinks on its a la carte cocktail list, as well as a juice pairing to complement its set menu. Individual drinks include spirit-free “Shaken” with celery, hops, and lemon; and “Collins,” with carrot, ginger, lime, and curry.

1350 W Randolph St, Chicago, IL 60607
(312) 733-1314
(312) 733-1314

Also featured in:

Osito's Tap

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Osito’s Tap has a trio of drinks those who are giving booze a break including one that would make Bugs Bunny proud. Deep Rooted Problems contains carrot, grapefruit, and orange juice; apricot-cinnamon syrup, and Three Spirit Nightcap. It’s topped with ginger beer.

2553 S Ridgeway Ave, Chicago, IL 60623
(773) 277-8117
(773) 277-8117

Also featured in:

Marz Community Brewing Company

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Experimental Bridgeport taproom and brewery Marz Community Brewing Company isn’t just focusing on beer. It also offers many booze-free options, including “Flower Power,” a CBD-fueled elixir with ingredients like hibiscus, chamomile, and cinnamon; and “Juniper Fizz,” also spiked with CBD, and enriched with vanilla bean, spruce, and blood orange. A second location in Bucktown also offers these concoctions.

3630 S Iron St, Chicago, IL 60609
(773) 579-1935
(773) 579-1935

Also featured in:

Virtue Restaurant

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Virtue, James Beard Award winner Erick Williams’s Southern restaurant in Hyde Park offers spirit-free imbibing options. “The Hummingbird” is flavored with basil and bitter lemon, while “the Duke of Earl” calls for Earl Grey tea, star anise, lemon, and egg white.

1462 E 53rd St, Chicago, IL 60615
(773) 947-8831
(773) 947-8831

Also featured in:

More in Maps

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Temperance Beer Co.

2000 Dempster St, Evanston, IL 60202

In January, Temperance unveiled a new beer, Near Tears, without booze. It’s a double-dry hopped near beer that’s dry, tangy, and bright. Hopefully, it will also brighten up the brewery’s sales, which are usually down in January.

2000 Dempster St, Evanston, IL 60202
(847) 864-1000
(847) 864-1000

Eli Tea Bar

5507 N Clark St, Chicago, IL 60640

This Michigan import arrived in Andersonville to bring both a sober bar and in creating a welcoming space for the LGBTQ community and its allies. Eli Tea mixed up unique tea drink no other tea room or coffee shop in Chicago offers. 

5507 N Clark St, Chicago, IL 60640
(773) 961-7111
(773) 961-7111
A person pours bright red tea out of a white pot into four glass mugs.
Andersonville is home to Eli Tea Bar’s second location.
Kim Kovacik/Eater Chicago

Nobody's Darling

1744 W Balmoral Ave, Chicago, IL 60640

The bartenders at this LGBTQ-friendly bar owned by a pair of Black women are always mixing something up lively. The menu features two drinks, but that’s just a sample of the bar’s library. Try the Desire (Lyre’s Italian Orange, passion fruit, lime, agave, habanero bitters).

1744 W Balmoral Ave, Chicago, IL 60640
A bartender holds a metal cocktail shaker inside a black-and-red bar space
This bar’s booze-free drinks showcase summer flavors all year long.
Garrett Sweet/Eater Chicago

Bokeh

4716 N Kedzie Ave, Chicago, IL 60625

Bokeh represents an evolution of booze-free drinks as it’s a newish bar that featured an NA section on its opening menu. Some bartenders and older bars may show some disdain in mixing up an NA drink, but that’s not the case at Bokeh. The Bosphorus Strait (Turkish coffee, “tagine” syrup, condensed milk) redefines the genre, proving that NA drinks are more than glorified juice bar selections.

4716 N Kedzie Ave, Chicago, IL 60625
(773) 754-0129
(773) 754-0129

Chiya Chai Café

2770 N Milwaukee Ave, Chicago, IL 60647

Chiya Chai imports its teas from Nepal and uses leaves creatively in both traditional and new ways in Logan Square. This is where to go when you grow up and realize that the words “chai” and “tea” are redundant when used consecutively and want to graduate from Starbucks’ pre-packaged concoctions, or whatever premixed garbage those neighborhood baristas are selling. Mocktails with ginger and chai are among the rotating specials.

2770 N Milwaukee Ave, Chicago, IL 60647
(773) 360-7541
(773) 360-7541

Billy Sunday

3143 W Logan Blvd, Chicago, IL 60647

Billy Sunday is a figure central to the temperance movement. Sunday was a former White Sox player who used his platform as a pulpit. There’s great fun in naming a cocktail bar after him. A few of their selections are powered with their own rabarbaro, a type of amaro. Sunday’s NA version is used in a daiquiri and the Teacher’s Pet with spiced sour cherry and Verjus rouge.

3143 W Logan Blvd, Chicago, IL 60647
(773) 661-2485
(773) 661-2485

Galit

2429 N Lincoln Ave, Chicago, IL 60614

An Israeli specialty is gazoz, a seasonal soda with fresh herbs. It’s no surprise that the staff at Galit in Lincoln Park have leaned into the drink for its NA offering. There are two varieties. A pomegranate with cardamom rose, and hibiscus; and apricot with shrub, urfa (dried pepper), and anise.

2429 N Lincoln Ave, Chicago, IL 60614
(773) 360-8755
(773) 360-8755

Bendición Dry Bar & Non-Alcoholic Bottle Shop

2540 W Division St, Chicago, IL 60622

In 2022, a bottle shop selling NA spirits like Bare and Everleaf debuted in Humboldt Park as a pop-up inside a plant shop called Succulent City. Bendición Dry Bar’s mission was to unite marginalized community members who were interested in reducing their booze consumption. They’ve hosted events, from queer tarot card reading to drawing classes. The hope is to build a bar inside the space for regular service. 

2540 W Division St, Chicago, IL 60622

LIVA at Chicago Winery

739 N Clark St, Chicago, IL 60654

In River North, the restaurant inside Chicago Winery, a new venue with locations in New York and D.C., is slinging three NA drinks. Liva is calling these drinks Flightless Birds. There’s a negroni, a drink called Tik-Taka (South African rooibos, black pepper, cranberry tonic), and Hotel Evangeline (Seedlip Spice 94, pineapple, apricot, lime, cinnamon).

739 N Clark St, Chicago, IL 60654
(312) 763-3674
(312) 763-3674
A dining room with a curtain-like hanging light fixture.
Chicagoans can even find alcohol-free options in a winery.
Barry Brecheisen/Eater Chicago

Arbella

112 W Grand Ave, Chicago, IL 60654

Arbella, the sibling to Peruvian icon Tanta, is a sleek bar with great drinking food that can make for an impromptu meal. The lounge’s bold NA drink lineup includes Smoking Kills (lemon-ginger kombucha, lime, ginger beer, infused smoke) and Secret Window (London Dry spirit-free, hibiscus, Peachtree sipping vinegar, fruit).

112 W Grand Ave, Chicago, IL 60654
(312) 846-6654
(312) 846-6654

The Omakase Room at Sushi-San

63 W Grand Ave, Chicago, IL 60654

Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises has created a restaurant inside a restaurant with the Omakase Room at Sushi-san, capitalizing on Chicago’s increased appetite for premium fish. Diners can pick from a few NA drinks including the Broken Promise (gingerbread Roobios, sesame, five spice, almond orgeat) and  Banana Brain (Genmaicha green tea, banana, sesame).

63 W Grand Ave, Chicago, IL 60654
(312) 766-7899
(312) 766-7899
A row of cocktails of various shapes, sizes, and colors are lined up on a table.
The Omakase Room has recently introduced non-alcoholic beverage options.
Lindsay Eberly/Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises

Bar Goa

116 W Hubbard St Suite 1, Chicago, IL 60654

As regional Indian food finds popularity in Chicago, Bar Goa takes inspiration from Goa, the state off India’s southwestern coast that’s known for its beaches. At Bar Goa in River North, they’re mixing up the Ginger Flower using hibiscus, ginger, orange, and lime.

116 W Hubbard St Suite 1, Chicago, IL 60654
(312) 900-0197
(312) 900-0197
A low-lit bar decorated with leafy plants.
Bar Goa doesn’t neglect patrons who don’t drink alcohol.
Barry Brecheisen/Eater Chicago

Rose Mary

932 W Fulton St, Chicago, IL 60607

Rose Mary leans into a mix of Italian and Croatian flavors, with chef Joe Flamm and company coining the term “Adriatic drinking food,” for its menu. There’s a a full menu of NA drinks including the Fake It Til You Make It (Lyre’s Agave Blanco, Cinnamon Orgeat, orange, Q Ginger Beer).

932 W Fulton St, Chicago, IL 60607
(872) 260-3921
(872) 260-3921

LÝRA

905 W Fulton Market, Chicago, IL 60607

The owners of Bandit and Bar Siena have opened a Greek restaurant in Fulton Market and offer a full line of NA drinks. A popular choice is the Halara (Amass Zero Proof, pomegranate, lemon, mint, tonic).

905 W Fulton Market, Chicago, IL 60607
(312) 660-7722
(312) 660-7722
DinaAmic Hospitality Group

Kumiko

630 W Lake St, Chicago, IL 60661

Over at lauded Japanese-inspired cocktail lair Kumiko in the West Loop, Julia Momose is mixing and muddling a number of spirit-free drinks. The Pepperberry Tonic has become somewhat of a signature, but there are deeper cuts. The Umeboshi Swizzle (shiso-pickled ume, brown-rice vinegar, lemon, Japanese seven spice) is poured over crushed ice.

630 W Lake St, Chicago, IL 60661
(312) 285-2912
(312) 285-2912

Related Maps

Bambola

1402 W Randolph St, Chicago, IL 60607

One of the most polarizing restaurants in Chicago is in West Loop were the owners of Michelin-starred Porto opened Bambola. The menu is marketed as a trip through Silk Road, but it can also be viewed as of what Asian food could taste like while living in Spain. Rose & Shiso Soda (rose water, red shiso, lime leaf) is a fizzy way to enjoy a drink.

1402 W Randolph St, Chicago, IL 60607
(312) 526-3983
(312) 526-3983

Elske

1350 W Randolph St, Chicago, IL 60607

Danish-inspired Elske in the West Loop offers seasonal booze-free drinks on its a la carte cocktail list, as well as a juice pairing to complement its set menu. Individual drinks include spirit-free “Shaken” with celery, hops, and lemon; and “Collins,” with carrot, ginger, lime, and curry.

1350 W Randolph St, Chicago, IL 60607
(312) 733-1314
(312) 733-1314

Osito's Tap

2553 S Ridgeway Ave, Chicago, IL 60623

Osito’s Tap has a trio of drinks those who are giving booze a break including one that would make Bugs Bunny proud. Deep Rooted Problems contains carrot, grapefruit, and orange juice; apricot-cinnamon syrup, and Three Spirit Nightcap. It’s topped with ginger beer.

2553 S Ridgeway Ave, Chicago, IL 60623
(773) 277-8117
(773) 277-8117

Marz Community Brewing Company

3630 S Iron St, Chicago, IL 60609

Experimental Bridgeport taproom and brewery Marz Community Brewing Company isn’t just focusing on beer. It also offers many booze-free options, including “Flower Power,” a CBD-fueled elixir with ingredients like hibiscus, chamomile, and cinnamon; and “Juniper Fizz,” also spiked with CBD, and enriched with vanilla bean, spruce, and blood orange. A second location in Bucktown also offers these concoctions.

3630 S Iron St, Chicago, IL 60609
(773) 579-1935
(773) 579-1935

Virtue Restaurant

1462 E 53rd St, Chicago, IL 60615

Virtue, James Beard Award winner Erick Williams’s Southern restaurant in Hyde Park offers spirit-free imbibing options. “The Hummingbird” is flavored with basil and bitter lemon, while “the Duke of Earl” calls for Earl Grey tea, star anise, lemon, and egg white.

1462 E 53rd St, Chicago, IL 60615
(773) 947-8831
(773) 947-8831

Related Maps